


The Two of Cups

by Tragedie_Sinclair



Category: Barkskins (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:27:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25638019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tragedie_Sinclair/pseuds/Tragedie_Sinclair
Summary: Another hopeless fan girl story by me! I could not help but fall in love with mister Hamish Goames when I first saw Barkskins. I was intending to watch the show but my mother saw it first and told me that Goames reminded her of my husband. Indeed, there are many parallels to be drawn there! Looks and personality. I'm a lucky lady! That all makes this character really fun to work with because there is no man I love more than my husband, even though I love to write these cheesy love stories about my favorite imaginary men.Please watch the whole show before reading. I had to add a day in the first episode to account for my character's introduction. Really, I just wanted to get into this "dimension" and meddle around a little bit! I plan to write the ending as if there is no plan for season two, but if one comes out this story will become like a choose your own adventure with a couple of alternate endings. If anyone finds this even half as enjoyable as I found writing it to be then my mission will not have been in vain.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	The Two of Cups

Though it had only been a few hours since Xavier Paquet took his last breath the moldering scent of  d ecay  was beginning to  putrefy the air inside the dark little cabin. Celeste could take it no longer . I n that  time, she managed to build a crude coffin and drop her husband into it, but her attempts to dig a grave had been unsuccessful to say the least . The  land Xavier had chosen  to settle  was  heavy and laden with rocks. On e she  rolled out of the shallow pi t was large enough to make into a  proper  headstone. Her grey skirt was caked in mud from the effort.  It was smeared across her matching corset, brown smudges staining the white satin ribbon that crisscrossed in the front. The sleeve of her black top was slashed, revealing a bloodied bandage wrapped from just above her elbow to her shoulder. The wound ached, but she did her best to ignore it.

With a heave she pushed the coffin out side . She did not get  the thing far from the door before giving up .  This was all far more work than she could have expected, and at the rate she was going there would be nothing but bones and  musty  clothes left to lay to rest by the time she finished .  Her stomach tied itself in a knot as she realized what she had to do next , the thought made  all the more unpleasant by her failure to do it sooner. The death had to be reported , and she could not deny that she needed help getting  Xavier into the ground.

She took off through the woods down a foot-beaten trail. Up a rocky hill and back down an other .  Across the log  that lay over  the stream and straight until the ceiling of pine needles gave way to blue sky. The going was unsteady as her heels slid over smooth stones, occasionally getting caught between them.  In many places  they sunk into the mud and one time she stepped but the shoe refused to follow along with her foot . She felt her dark chestnut tresses tumble out of place , h alf of it h anging unbound  over her shoulders while the other half sat oddly on the side of her head . L oose strands bl ew across her face , tickling her chin and getting stuck in her mouth . Frustration and dread were building inside her like a boiling teakettle. 

There was a small clearing between the forest and the walls of Wobik.  She  sprinted through it until her body  crash ed against the gate . With an unsteady hand she fumbled with the latch before the door swung open . Her foot caught on the bottom of the doorframe, causing her to  nearly topple over herself as she stumbled into town . All who saw her stopped in their tracks, wide-eyed at the sight of her . 

“Captain Bouchard? I need to see the constable! Where is Bouchard?”

No one responded to her thickly accented pleas . Many of them turned away and went back to their duties while the rest stood and stared like deer on  alert. As she made her way to the center of town the pitch of her voice grew shriller and more difficult to ignore. Eventually someone would come to quell the commotion, perhaps even the constable himself. Alas, it was Mat h ilde who appeared first. She came storming  around the corner of Le Grand Inn apparent ly miffed by the racket, but her face brightened when she saw Celeste. Until she noticed the condition the young woman was in. The innkeeper ran to her and inspected her arm. 

“My dear, you’re hurt.”

“It is nothing. I need to speak with the captain immediately, it is urgent.”

Celeste was struggling to keep her breath. The concern grew on Mat h ilde’s face. 

“He is inside attending to important business. Come with me, I’ll help you change that bandage.”

“Non, merci. This cannot wait.”

Celeste patted Matilde on the hand  before rushing past her . She thrust open the door of the inn just as her query was taking his leave. Her sudden appearance took  Bouchard  by surprise. For a moment he stood there staring at  the disheveled woman, but quickly he stepped back and gestured her inside. Her attention was so fixed on  the captain it was as if they were the only two people in the world . As she stepped through the door  both bristled for a tense moment, neither party pleased to see the other.

Bouchard knew there were mysterious circumstances to Celeste’s arrival in  Wobik but he was unable to figure out what exactly  they were . Like many of the girls who came to New France she was seeking a  new beginning or leaving behind some old hurt, but there was something different about Celeste.  The sister who watched over the Filles du Rois during their voyage knew, and though  by law  she could not divulge the entirety of the truth, she warned the captain that Celeste had done something “wicked and  reprehensible,” and that “he would do well to keep an eye on her.” Bouchard told Celeste as much  shortly after her arrival, just before he delivered the warning that if he ever found out what she did he would carry out the same punishment she would have received in France.

After a tense momentary staring match Celeste  cleared her throat and stated her business. 

“ Xavier  was bitten by a  massasuga yesterday at sunset. He passed this morning.”

Bouchard’s jaw dropped in disbelief , but he closed it and took a breath before responding.

“Perhaps we should discuss this matter in private, Madame Paquet?”

His gaze rolled over the two others he was just conferring with. Celeste’s eyes followed, first landing on a slender native man with long, grey hair and an elegantly embroidered coat  who was  leaning against the  red-felted billiards table . He gave her a warm smile and a nod, which she returned. Then she saw his companion sitting at  a table by the window . Piercing blue -grey eyes peering out from beneath the wide brim of his hat. Long, dark tresses curling and twisting as they fell over the shoulders of his midnight blue coat. Again, her breath caught in her chest, though this time it was not from over exertion. She smiled as she felt a flush in her cheeks. 

“Pardonnez-moi, monsieur...”

“Hamish  Goames ,” the man replied in an English accent, “And this is Yvon Kirkpatrick , my business partner.”

“Monsieur  Goames , while it is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of you and your companion, I must insist on speaking  with the captain at once, and forgive me if I care not for privacy as the whole of Wobik will know what has happened soon enough .”

“By all means,” he replied with a gesture towards Bouchard.  She nodded to him with a smile before turn ing abruptly back to  the  captain .

“I need help with the grave.”

“And how is this a problem of mine?”

Celeste rubbed her forehead in dismay, smearing a thin layer of dirt onto her skin.

“Is this about  Xavier‘s  debt? I paid it off over a year ago.”

“Not the interest.”

“Please, captain, I—”

The scuffling chair legs dragging  across the floor silenced Celeste’s rebuttal. Hamish stood from his seat and placed his hands upon the table as he cast Bouchard a severe look.

“What’s all this about? You won’t help a widow bury her late husband because of a petty

debt?”

Bouchard’s face began to take on the fiery hue of his hair. For a moment he glowered at Mister Goames but before long he sighed with a shake of his head.

“Fine. I’ll come by with the undertaker in the morning . I need to investigate the body before the burial.”

The response suited  Goames well enough to make him take his seat again, but a dark cloud grew over Celeste’s face. She stomped her muddy foot on the ground .

“ For what reason should there be an investigation?  Do you suggest that I may have done something to  my dear Xavier ? How dare you!”

She lifted her finger and pointed it at  Bouchard ’s nose, almost touching it with the tip of her nail, but he brushed her hand aside as if he were clearing a small cobweb.

“I will  have a look at him  tomorrow morning with or without your consent, madame Paquet. For God’s sake, there has n ever been a sighting of such a snake in  Wobik , I need to know what exactly happened out there.”

Celeste sat down sideways i n the chair  across from Mister  Goames , placed her elbow on the backrest and cradled her head in her hand. After a deep, quivering breath she looked to the Englishman with dismay , silently pleading with him to help her . He remained stoic and silent so she turned back to the captain once more . 

“I am alone in the world now. No husband to protect me from the beasts of the woods, to provide me with food, to keep the roof over my head from rotting, and now you plague me with your mistrust and accusations , I ...”

“We will help you.”

Yvon spoke up from the background. Celeste smiled at him with gratitude and relief before shooting Bouchard a contemptuous smirk . She did not notice the subtle, sideways glare  Goames shot his partner, nor the defiant look Yvon gave in return.  The constable  looked to the Englishman for the final  say in the matter. With a sigh  Goames concurred.

“We’ve seen firsthand what the bite of a massasuga can do to a man. I will grant you my report when we return.”

Celeste smiled and clapped her hands in front of her chest with glee.

“I am forever grateful monsieur  Kirkpatrick , monsieur  Goames . Our home, um... I mean, my home is not far outside the city walls. Let us go now.”

“Shall I send for a priest?”

Celeste s hook her head at the constable , her mood growing stormy once more.

“Non.  Xavier  would not have wanted that. You know how he was.”

“A godless man. Pity. I am sorry for your loss, Madame Paquet, the two of you were such a good match.” 

His sympathies echoed empty in her ears.  Celeste stuck her nose up in the air and let out a soft  _ humph _ as she walked past. Hamish and Yvon followed her out the door without a second glance at the captain. Outside the air was brisk as the  autumn breeze blew across her skin . She rubbed her hands against her arms to warm them but recoiled from the pain of pressing on  her  wound ed arm . Hamish quickened his pace until he caught up with her, his face impossible to read as he walked beside her.

“Are you cold, madame Paquet?”

“Please, call me Celeste. I am no longer married to  Xavier  Paquet.  It was w ith his death we parted.”

“I am sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you, monsieur Goames, and for your help as well. To answer your question, no, I am fine. One must have thick skin to survive here. Now tell me, what brings you to Wobik?”

“Business matters.”

It was a simple response, but one he did not seem intent on elaborating on. In silence he opened the city gate for her. Celeste shrugged as she passed through.

“Well, if there is anything I can do to assist you, I would happy to help.”

“Not unless you’ve seen a James Cross in  town recently.

“I’m afraid I have not.”

The conversation fell silent as they passed through the clearing and entered the forest. The open sky disappeared behind a curtain of tree boughs and bird’s wings once more. They walked in silence until they could hear the bubbling melody of  water against stones.

“That wound looks  painful .”

There was concern in Yvon’s voice.  Celeste  shook her head, dismissing his trepidation. She  replied as she crossed over the fallen log to the other side of the creek. 

“It is nothing. I slipped and fell while helping  my husband  back to the cabin after he was bitten. Scraped my arm on a stone as  sharp as a shard of glass. ”

“And what of th e debt you  and Bouchard spoke of ? ” 

“Hamish, that is not for you to ask.”

Celeste smiled  as she looked back  over her shoulder  at her two followers, though she never stopped walking.

“No, it is fine.  My husband loved to visit the inn, to play billiards, to drink and ta lk with the men of the town. I do not know how exactly he managed to accrue such a debt to Francis Geffard.  I just remember Bouchard pounding on the door of our cabin, warning Xavier to pay the debt or be cast out of  Wobik .  With no way to repay  it , I agreed to help  Mathilde at the inn until the debt was square. Then Francis began demanding interest, but  Mathilde assured me she would make him reconsider. ”

Silence overtook them until, at last,  they reached  Celeste ’s  home . The structure was built a gainst the footing of a rocky cliff that jutted straight out of the ground and rose almost as tall as the trees. Not far from the house was a small herb garden , just beyond the shadow of the cliff , bathed in sunlight and fenced with twigs woven together with twine. Just outside the door was the  hastily made coffin , lay ing where Celeste had left  it . Yvon picked up the shovel off the  ground and began digging in the freshly disturbed earth where she had started the work. Immediately the blade collided with a stone, letting out a metallic clang. Celeste sauntered in front of  Goames , beckon ing him into  the cabin with the curl of her slender finger. He hesitated for a moment before following her through the door into the shadowy little shack.

The structure was built in front of the mouth of a cave. A blanket was affixed over the opening, separating the cabin from cavern.  T he rest of the dwelling was quite mundane. There was a dining table in the center of the room with  two crudely made chairs  on each side of it . A stone hearth was built into one of the side walls. A  stove stood beside it . There was a small yet  crowded rack of jars filled with dried herbs  mounted  on the wall nearby . Celeste gestured to the hearth with a shake of her head.

“C ould you start a fire for me, please ?”

Hamish nodded and knelt beside the hearth. Celeste disappeared behind the curtain, reemerging a moment later with a bottle, a jar and some clean linen bandages.  Sh e gritted her teeth as she unwrapped the soiled cloth from her arm  to the sound of Hamish striking his flint against the kindling . Dried blood was caked into the fibers  and it  tore away from her skin as she  peel ed the bandage. Fresh blood began to ooze and trickle from th e cut.  Then she soaked one of the clean bandages in lavender tincture and wiped the  fresh and  blackened blood f rom her arm. A whimper escaped her as the sting of the alcohol reached its climax, but her guest seemed not to notice , for a spark caught on the tinder. He blew a gentle current of air across it until the flames burst forth from and illuminated the darkness. The sound of crackling overtook the silence. 

Celeste traded the bottle of tincture for the jar. The salve inside felt cool on her skin, extinguishing the burning of the  alcohol. With a smile and a nod of her head she beckoned Hamish over to her. He stood slowly, leering for a moment to watch her finish rubbing the cream on her arm before slowly approaching the table. The light behind him framed  the  silhouette of his hat, long coat and high boots. It shone through the fringes of his hair and came to rest on the angles of his sharp features. 

“Would you mind?”

She placed a roll of bandages in his hand before pulling back the slashed sleeve.  He paused for a moment to look at the wound before beginning to wrap the bandage. With a  firm yet gentle touch his fingers slid across her  skin, causing a flutter in her stomach like a field of wildflowers in the spring  breeze. His face drew closer to hers as the bandages made their way up to her shoulder, until his forehead was almost touching her cheek. There was an unexpected sweetness to his musky aroma, like some rare spice the likes of which  Xavier  could never have afforded to bring home for her to enjoy. He tied the end of the bandage and took a step back.

“I should inspect the body.”

“You mistrust m e as  Bouchard does ?”

“I make no assumption as to the circumstances of your late husband’s passing. I simply need to see him before he is laid to rest so that my friend and I  may get back to our business.”

Celeste nodded  and le d Hamish  out of the cabin . The smell of fresh earth filled the air as Yvon flung dirt out of the hole . Hamish approached the coffin and lifted the  top. Immediately he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and covered his nose with it.  Xavier’s  face was pale as a sheet ,  his closed eyes beginning to sink in their sockets. His posture was  rigid and his bluish lips were beginning to part. He was not a young man,  with  wispy grey hair tied b ehind his head  in a thin strip of leather. Deep lines were set into his weathered skin . Years of harsh winters and scalding sun had taken their toll on his face and hands . Celeste lifted his pant leg to reveal the bite  wound and Hamish leaned in closer to inspect  it . The skin around the two small punctures  was  black and necrotic, as were the major veins leading away from the site of injury.

“ I t does seem as though the bite of the snake has been this man’s undoing .  I would be convinced were it not for the fact that such a snake has never been seen so far north. And then there’s the state of your arm. No mere stone could make a cut so precise. Is there something you wish to tell me, Madame Celeste?”

The widow sighed and crossed her arms over her chest as if to comfort herself from the pain of reliving the memory . 

“ I have  spoken nothing but the truth, monsieur  Goames .  Xavier  returned from hunting with a small turkey and a snakebite. I fell as I was trying to help him back to the cabin and s craped my arm when I fell . I tried to save him, but it was too late. All I could do was ease his passing. ”

“Is that so?”

Hamish smirked , h is eyes cold as a January night.  It sent a shiver down her  spine , but  she did her best to disguise it with a smile and a shrug.

“I wish there was more to tell, monsieur.  Now, I must prepare the turkey before it turns. Won’t you and your companion join me for supper ? It is the least I can do to thank you for your assistance.”

“I’m afraid we cannot, our time here is short.”

Celeste’s brow furrowed with sadness as she puckered her lips in a pout. 

“I will be supping alone for many nights to come. Won’t you please spare me this one?”

Hamish appeared unamused and unsympathetic. She intensified the plea in her eyes until her vision blurred with tears and her bottom lip trembled . He relented with a disdainful sigh. 

“As you wish, but then we must be off.”

He turned abruptly and went to help Yvon finish the task. Celeste  prepared a stew  from the turkey  with some herbs and mushrooms she foraged from nearby. Occasionally she peered out the window to watch the two men pulling stones from the earth as the grave grew deeper.  When, at last, it appeared they had finished Mister  Goames took Yvon over to the coffin for a second inspection. As they  whispered between themselves Celeste appeared in the doorway .  When they noticed her  presence, t hey stood and removed their hats.  Yvon spoke in somber tones.

“ I don’t know what manner of snake it was, but the bite was fatal. I am sorry for your  loss, madame Celeste. Best we lay him to rest now.”

Celeste watched as the two men lowered  the coffin down into the freshly dug grave. The sun was sinking fast and the air was beginning to take on a chill. Together they stood, looking down at the wooden box sunken into the ground. Hamish and Yvon  hel d their hats to their chests a s they bowed their heads . A whimper caught in the widow’s throat. Her hand rose to cover her mouth and she closed her eyes hard , pushing tears down her cheeks .  S he felt a sudden and unexpected warmness beside her as Mister  Goames place d his hand on her shoulder.  Without hesitation she leaned into him and  laid her head  in the crook of his neck , though she was surprised he allowed her to do so without recoiling. Yvon  delivered the eulogy as he sprinkled sacred herbs from a pouch over the coffin .

“Xavier Paquet, your wife will keep a fire for you. May this light and the light of your ancestors guide you back home to them. Walk strong and walk well upon the road to those that await your return back to spirit.”

“Shall I say I prayer for him?”

Celeste replied to Hamosh without relinquishing her place on  hi s shoulder. 

“Because of what Bouchard said back at the inn?  My husband was not a godless man just because he did not like churches or priests or confessing his sins.  He knew God and worshipped him in his own manner. He wasn’t particularly fond of prayer, but perhaps...”

Her voice trailed off, so  Hamish began reciting the Lord’s Prayer . Cele ste’s voice joined in after the first line . After they said Amen Hamish’s  hand slid off Celeste’s shoulder and she lifted her head.  After tossing a handful of earth onto the coffin lid she watched the m fill the hole back in once more.  A crow cawed loudly  as it circled above the trees .

After the funeral she  led her guests into the cabin and  offered them a basin of water to wash  with . While their backs were  turned she sprinkled a fine powder into one of the bowls. They took their seats and she  filled the bowls, placing one before each of her guests. Once the cups were filled  with  win e Celeste took  her seat  on the other side of the table.  There was a moment of hesitation, as if they were waiting for her to say recite some sort of prayer before the meal. S he  picked up her spoon and dipped it into the stew without any such ceremony . They ate in silence until Yvon savored the aroma from his cup before taking a sip. He smiled as his hostess.

“The wine is excellent, madame, as is the stew.”

“Merci, monsieur  Kirkpatrick .  The herbs are  the same as my mother used to use back home in France , and I made the wine with wild strawberries I found last summer . ”

Each helped themselves to a second serving. The day had been  long and taxing , and they were grateful  to eat something besides the company’s rations .  After they finished Celeste topped off their cups and took their empty bowls over to the wash basin . Hamish took out his ledger and  opened it to a fresh page.  As he wrote Yvon tried but failed to stifle a yawn. This earned him a sharp sideways glare from his partner.

“We will be leaving shortly .”

Y von nodded  dutifully as his eyelids drooped. Hamish went back to writing. Celeste turned around from the basin , still drying one of the bowls in her hands, though neither of her guests noticed until she spoke .

“The journey to the settlement is long. You should rest here tonight . ”

Hamish shook his head, his eyes never leaving the page.

“We will make camp in a couple of miles. Time is of the essence, Yvon.”

With a few more strokes of the charcoal he made his final notes and closed the book with a judicial clap.  Yvon was unmoved. He shook his head in protest.

“We’ve paid for a room at the inn that we’re not using. Now we’ve been offered a free roof to stay under and you  wish to sleep outside again? Do what you will Hamish, I’ll catch up with you in the morning.”

Yvon set up his bedroll near the hearth  while  Hamish watched with contempt. Celeste disappeared behind the curtain and returned a moment later with some spare blankets for her guest.  With gratitude he accepted them, and again she thanked him for his help with laying Xavier to rest. After Yvon laid back and closed his eyes Celeste  tiptoed over and  took a seat in the chair beside  her other guest.

“Is that your report for Bouchard?”

She gestured to the closed book in his lap.

“It is.”

“What does it say?”

“That Xavier Paquet succumbed to a snakebite early this morning, just as you described. He was laid to rest th is evening . May God rest his soul.”

“Merci, monsieur. ”

Yvon let out a soft snore , already sound asleep. Clearly unnerved by the speed of Yvon’s slumber, Hamish looked to his friend and then back to Celeste. He could not bring himself to say what he wa s thinking, though the accusation was plainly written on his face. Celeste tried to soothe him with a smile.

“Do not worry. It is just a sleeping powder.”

She placed her hand upon  Hamish’s . For the first time he noticed her ring . There was a tiny hinge on the side. With his other hand he reached out and pulled up on the bezel, shaped like a rose made of silver, revealing a small chamber with a powdery residue inside.

“No harm will come to him, I assure you. He will awaken refreshed in the morning, as will you. I merely wished to speak with you in private. ”

“ You  simply  could have asked .”

“I am asking now. Come with me and I will tell you everything . ”

Her whispers sounded lovely veiled in her Parisian accent and her words had  caught his ear .  No longer concerned with his clearly comfortable associate his attention full snapped to her.

“Everything?”

“What really happened to my arm. How my husband came upon such a creature.  Why you’ve really come to  Wobik and what will come of your journey here .”

Hamish stood quickly and took a step back. Celeste was just as quick, closing the distance between them unti l they were almost brushing against one another. Hamish stood his ground, a hard  and unwavering glint in his eyes.

“How could you possibly know such things?”

Celeste leaned in almost close enough to brush her nose against his cheek as she whispered in his ear.

“Are you a God-fearing man, monsieur  Goames ?”

His posture seemed to  tighten a s he leaned away from her closeness .

“I, um, I believe all men  face their sins in the end.”

“How quaint. You should know, there are things in these woods far more terrifying than God 's  retribution for your earthly sins . I see no ring upon your hand. Shall I assume you have no wife waiting for you at home?”

“No, madame, I am quite married to my work.”

He took another step  back, but she kept  in step with him as s he reached up  gently touched the buttons of his uniform coat .

“You must be quite fond of it then. Tell me, why did you decide to join the Hudson's Bay Company?”

Hamish paused to consider the question, or perhaps he was choosing his words carefully.  Her fingers trailed gently up  the  coat until they came  to loosening his collar , though they did not get far before he pulled away with another backwards step . The last he could take, for his  heel  was against the wall .

“For a chance to explore the New World and expand  England’s empire. To be of service to my country and my king. Why do you ask?  The subject has little to do with your husband’s untimely end, and was that not the intended  topic for our discussion this evening?”

Celeste looked out the tiny window beside  them .  The trees appeared as blackened  silhouettes while t he clouds behind them blush ed with vibrant hues of pink and orange against the  darkening blue sky.  The crickets had just begun their nightly  serenade . With a dutiful nod  she took her guest’s hand and led him towards the curtain covering the mouth of the cave . As she reached out to pull it  back he stopped and pulled his hand free from hers. She turned around.

“Come with me,  monsieur . The truth s you seek  lie just beyond .”

She disappeared behind the drape. A moment later Hamish appeared inside the cave. The re was a short, narrow passageway leading to a larger room which  Xavier  and Celeste had made their  sleeping chamber. The four-poster bed seemed out of place against the bare stone walls . A small fire burned on the floor o n one side of the room . Candles were set into the walls, illuminating several large shelves, lined with  glass  jars, tin cannisters and wooden boxes . One shelf held a couple of books and a small pile of papers . The  wooden hope chest she brought from France sat on a shelf amongst some picture frames and dried flowers . There was a  small table beside an armoire with two chairs set opposite each other. Celeste sat down  and invited her  scowling  guest to take the other seat.  She  leaned  over the table towards him and drew in a slow, deep breath . H is eyes drop  to her chest  as  i t rose and fell  in her corset. A small necklace that matched the rose on her ring hung just above her breasts and twinkled in the flickering candlelight . 

“ My mother was a healer in Paris. She learned everything from my grandmother and together they taug ht me everything I know.  Sometimes people  of Wobik  come here seeking cures and sometimes I  would  go to town to sell herbs and  poultices .  When Xavier and I met he admired my knowledge . He bought the seeds I needed to grow my garden and together we’ve enjoyed the small amount of money it has made us.  About a year ago he began to grow suspicious of me. We had been married for two years but I bore him no children. He accused me of concocting some potion  to render him impotent. ”

“Did you, madame Celeste?”

Celeste shook her head without hesitation, the part of her hairstyl e that had not yet fallen bobbing as she did. A lock of hair fell in front of her face . She tucked it behind her ear. 

“ Never. The truth is that I never wanted to have a family with Xavier. He was a lazy man  who spent what little money we had on his bar tab. You already know about his debts and what I had to do to repay them.  Xavier taught me everything he knew about hunting and fishing and then left me to do it myself.  Sure, once or twice a week he’d fell a couple of good trees and sell the logs , but then he’d  be off to the inn and return with nothing. How could I  possibly  take care of  a baby while I took care of everything else? ”

Celeste stood, not expecting an answer . She picked up her hope chest from one of the shelves and emptied its contents onto the table. A  necklace and a couple of rings, a few hair ribbons , a deck of cards,  a small book and a small stack of notes bound by twine. Wh en the box was empty, she turned it around so Hamish could watch her remove the false bottom . Inside was another small stack of notes, unbound and  yellowed with age , edges both creased and torn . Celeste did not touch them, nor did she allow mister  Goames to inspect them. She put the panel of wood back and replaced the original items back inside.

“Xavier discovered my darkest secret . The reason I came to New France. I could not allow him to live to tell anot her soul.”

“And you may take your secret to the grave, madame Celeste, I do not wish—”

He held up his hand for her to stop but she  obeyed only until she had heard enough.

“ I thought you wanted to know the truth,  Monsieur  Goames . Y ou will hear the entirety of what I have to  say and you will tell no one.”

“ You must understand that i f a crime has been committed  here I will have no choice but to report it to captain Bouchard . ”

Celeste  smiled defiantly as if she dared him to do such a thing .

“ Th o se are m y grandmother ’s notes from when she studied under Catherine  Monvo i sin , known more commonly as La Vo i sin .  As you probably know,  she wa s  burned at the stake fourteen years ago . What you do not know is that my mother and grandmother met the same fate not five years later,  and that I narrowly escaped the s take myself, but I convinced one of the sisters to bargain for my release . I  was allowed to come to New France with the Filles du Rois , but I was n ot permitted a dowry nor any refinements . I told Xavier I traded  those things to pay off a debt my family owed to the  crown.  Once he learned the truth our marriage was over. He disavowed our un ion, even welcomed my trial and the sentence of death that would be passed down upon me .”

“ So you did kill your husband?”

“ Is  that a question or a statement, monsieur? It certainly was not me who bit him , and yet your report speaks of a deadly bite wound.  Allow me to recount what happened yesterday evening . ”

She told him of how Xavier rushed out the door with the chest to find captain  Bouchard, but  she chased him down and jumped on his back.  They tumbled into some tall grass and must have spooked a small garter snake . It lashed out and struck  Xavier' s ankle just above his boot.  Nothing venomous but it must have hurt quite a lot for he yelled out as he bashed the creature  to death . Celeste begged him to let  her  dress the  wound, but he  would hear nothing she had to say .  She reached out and took his arm, trying to lead him home when he  punched  her in the  stomach . She fell to the ground and did not get back up .  H e must have felt sorry for doing it, for he came back to help  her sit .  She cried as  she t ried to convince him that she had  already repented her sins once and had been redeemed . His anger was extinguished w hen she told him that was finally ready to start a family . He carried her back to the  cabin and she made him his favorite tea with some of the same sleeping powder  she gave  Yvon before  dress ing his wound with  a special police made of bloodroot and water hemlock.  He fell asleep soon after.

In the early hours of the morning Celeste awoke to Xavier shaking her. Sweat was dripping off his face and he  was struggling to breathe . Tears were streaming out of his panicked eyes as he  frantically tr ied to untie the bandage around his snakebite. Her attempts to pull his arms away were unsuccessful and he was beginning to loosen the bindings. She wrapped her fingers around his neck and pulled him down onto the bed. It was a struggle to get on top of  him but she managed to squeeze his chest between her thighs as her hands tightened around his neck. Then the searing pain of his hunting knife tore through her flesh as he tried to pr y her off  him, but he was growing weak with his efforts. He dragged the blade down her arm  before it fell to the floor, his arm dropping limp over the edge of the bed. 

For a moment  Hamish was speechless. Celeste reached back into her hope chest and pulled out  the deck of cards. She shuffled them a few times while  she waited for her guest to  ponder on all she had told him.  When his wandering gaze finally fell on the cards in her hands, she handed him the deck. He t urned them over to the other side before setting them down on the table.

“ Tarot cards? Really, madame, I—”

“Cut the deck, monsieur  Goames . Then shuffle it five times from your right hand to your left in front of your heart.”

He gave her one of his defiant  looks, but she returned it with equal intensity , flickering her eyes down to the cards on the table and back up to him until he obeyed. With a roll of his eyes he picked up half the dec k and set it down beside the  other half , then picked up the bottom of the deck and set it on top. With a slight hesitation he picked  them up and clumsily rearranged the cards  according to her instructions . 

“You are allowed to breathe, monsieur.”

Hamish took a breath as he began the second round of shuffling. When he finished the fifth  round, he set the cards back on the table and Celeste snatched them back  quick as a treefrog hunting in the canopy. She  drew three cards and set them face up on the table. The ten of cups and the ten of  baton s.

“You r past is woven with deep ties to your family . Your sister is the sun, no?  It is because of her that you are here. Please,  monsieur, say something if I am mistaken.”

Hamish was silent.  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small framed picture , gazing at it for a moment before sliding it across the table.

“My sister Alice. How could you have known about her?”

“I am a  divineress , monsieur Goames. I see many things in the cards.”

She  drew three more cards, setting them upon the table beneath the first three. The five of swords, the devil and death.  His eyes widened as she set the final card down upon the  table but she was not so concerned. 

“Fear not, my friend. The death card is rarely so literal when it appears at this stage in the reading.  Your present is mired in duty and obligation , so much so that you  have  been forced to weigh your duty to your family against your obliga tion to the company . I am not surprised that you chose family over career, though that may soon change .  You may be surprised the lengths you will go to please your masters.”

“While I thank you for your time, madame, I think it is time my friend and I were on our way.”

Hamish gave her a curt nod and stood from his  seat, but she merely held out the fanned-out deck over the table for a moment before protesting his  departure .

“Please, monsieur, have a seat. You must draw the cards if you wish to see your future.”

“And what if I do not?”

“Are you afraid? What ha rm could come of it? Please, I insist. Then you must get some rest before the night grows too long.”

With a huff Hamish sat down , his patience growing thin. He  snatched a card from the deck and  slammed it down onto the table . The world, inverted.  Celeste waved the deck and he took another card.  The tower. Again, she lifted the deck and he took a final card. The wheel of fortune , also reversed . 

“Your future is dark. It will change you, f or better or worse, though I fear you should prepare for the worse. You will be forced to take actions with dire consequences that  could  cast a wide shadow  of influence . T he wheel indicates two possible outcomes. ”

Celeste collapsed the fan of cards and cut the deck , leaving two piles . From the top of one pile she took a card and placed it on the table. The ten of swords. She could not  stop the gasp before it escaped, her hand reaching her mouth too late.

“What is it, Celeste?”

“Draw the last card.”

“But what does this  one  mean?”

“Please, monsieur, just draw the last card.”

Celeste pointed to the second half of the deck.  Hamish obeyed, revealing the two of cups. Celeste heaved a sigh of relief.

“ I see now.  I t is as I have said. Without my help your mission will end in vain . P oor Alice will be left  without her  husband  or her brother , and with no grave s to mourn over .”

All of Hamish’s muscles tightened as his blue eyes grew stormy.  Celeste stood and sauntered  behind her guest. Her finger s moved beneath his hair and wrapped around his shoulders. They were quite tense. Gently she squeezed them, trying to soothe th e tightness out of his muscles but  he seemed reluctant to let it go . Sh e lifted his hat from atop his head but that only increased the rigidity of his posture. It landed on the ground beside him with a soft thud as she draped her arm across his chest and caressed his cheek.

“ This is what happens next , mon  amie .  You’re going  bring that report to Bouchard, unamended . You will tell no one about what we have discussed tonight , and— ”

Hamish pulled away and gave her a stern look. 

“ I am in  no position to do anything of the sort, madame. You’ve admitted  to me  a serious crime , perhaps two.  I  should take  my account to the captain at once.”

Again, Hamish stood abruptly but Celeste threw herself between him and the  curtain leading back to the cabin before he could slide through.

“ You will never find you man Cross without my help. As I have told you, there are things in these woods  far more terrifying than  facing one’s sins . You will need my protection to see this mission through. ”

“I am capable of protecting myself.”

“ I don’t doubt that, but if you refuse my help you will die .”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Come,  lie down, you look faint.”

She led him over to the  four-poster bed and  sat him down on the edge of it.  She put her arm around his shoulder and tugged on his dark blue coat until it slid off his arms and came to rest on the bed. He put up no resistance, sitting still as a statue in his blue vest and white, long-sleeved undershirt.  She tossed  the heavy coat over the footboard of the bed. 

“How did you know I was looking for my sister’s husband?”

“I told you already, I see many things in the cards.”

He shook his head, still looking down at the ground.

“I t’s  merely a game . There is no sorcery behind such a thing. ”

“ Was it just a game? Everything I said was true, was it not? You need to trust me. I have nothing to gain from lying to you. I want to help you find  this monsieur Cross and make sure no harm comes of you in the process.”

As she  spoke, she  uncinched the clasp of  the  gun holster  around his waist . The leather was warmed by the heat of his body. He reached to reclaim  it, but she dropped it on the floor out of his reach .  Then s he lifted the strap of his satchel over his head before he was able to stop her.  Her swift fingers moved to the  buttons of his vest . H e grabbed both  her wrists his hands with an unexpected force. She tried to jerk herself  free, but he held tight as a pair of  shackles, so instead she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his . To her surprise he did not  recoil in an instant, instead lingering in th e kiss for a moment before pulling back. Celeste could hardly  suppress a gigg le at his baffled expression. 

“Have you never?”

He was unflinching.  No nod nor shake of the head nor change in expression to give away his answer.  Celeste  stood and  uncinched her own belt , let ting her black top fall to the floor. The candlelight glinted off her smooth, bare shoulders as she  pulled out the last vestiges of her ruined hairstyle, letting her  dark brown  tresses fall naturally down to her elbows. She  crawled onto Hamish’s lap, hugging his hips with her knees . His hands moved to the lacing on the back of her corset but then fell back to the bed again. She cradled his face in her hands and kissed his  cheek , moving down to his  neck until she felt the soft vibration of the bow  being pulled  loose . A moment later the garment lo st the tightness of its grip on her chest a nd she breathed deeply , savoring th e new freedom  from constraint.  She  nearly tore his shirt from his chest as he continued to pull the lacing out of the eyelets . Within moments  they were enmeshed in one another atop the bed,  each forgetting temporarily their reasons for coming to this strange , hostile new land. 

And it was just as Celeste had said. He did sleep well that night.


End file.
